


Aftermath

by RyuRedwings



Series: Fox Fire [1]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Fan Characters, Original Characters - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 18:19:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9284114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuRedwings/pseuds/RyuRedwings
Summary: After Risu accidentally finds out that Cyrus is really the hero Coyote, he must try and make amends with one of his best friends. It's a little hard to try and talk to someone when they refuse to have anything to do with you though, and Cyrus finds that trying to talk to Risu about keeping his hero work a secret may be harder then just trying to talk to her at work.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This short story was inspired by SoulSerenade's wonderful characters, and my own, that were created for a fun Teen Titans roleplay group. These are our own original characters that were put into the DC universe. 
> 
> You can find out more about SoulSerenade's characters here: https://paintberri.com/artist/SoulSerenade  
> You can find out more about Risu here: http://ryuredwingsreturn.tumblr.com/tagged/risu
> 
> Happy reading!

Yama’s restaurant would most likely be considered a hole in the wall, and was easily passed by tourists or inexperienced locals that didn’t venture past the usual haunts of Little Tokyo. But for the people that knew where it was, and the variety of delicious, authentic Japanese and East Asian food it had, it was a great find amidst the corner stores, snack food stalls, and grocers that filled that section of town. It was an inviting place when you stopped to check it out, the hours and menu posted in the front window (in English and Japanese) and the view through from the big front windows showing the clean seating and open sushi bar near the cash register. 

And yet Cyrus was stuck outside, his heart on the edge of pounding out of his chest as he debated going in at all. He was only about two feet from the door, hands stuffed in his pockets, and had been staring at the entryway for what felt like an eternity. Thankfully he hadn’t gotten in the way of anyone yet, passersby staying clear of him, as he watched the familiar curly auburn ponytail bob up and down as Risu went from table to table inside the restaurant. She hadn’t noticed him, too busy getting orders and bringing out plates of food to look outside, and he was one part grateful for it, one part terrified. He anxiously tapped his foot, going through a hundred different things to say to her, and rejecting each one. It felt like someone had dumped an entire dictionary in his head and scrambled all the words together whenever he tried to piece together something to say to her.  

Standing outside forever certainly wasn’t going to fix anything though. It was either come back around closing time to catch her, or go in now while he knew he had the time. 

Taking a deep breath, he finally walked in, and waited to be seated. 

Risu noticed him instantly, looking up from setting down a plate of yakisoba on another customer’s table, and started her automatic greeting. 

“Welcome! What can I- oh.” 

Her ready-made server smile dropped off her face when she realized it was him, and was instead replaced with an icy blankness that made him almost dive back outside. Her lavender eyes, which had always been bright and cheerful when she talked to him, went cold as she stared at him.

Cyrus gave her a weak smile, lifting a hand out of his pocket to wave hello. Risu only narrowed her eyes, her mouth twitching into what he recognized as the sneer she only reserved for people she was telling to hit the road, and disdainfully shrugged her shoulders as she turned from him.

“Sit wherever,” she said, and then whipped around to head back to the kitchen.

Cyrus stood where he was a for second, vaguely wondering if a pit could spontaneously open up underneath him and swallow him whole. He saw Yama, behind the counter at the sushi bar, looking from him to Risu and back again, obviously confused at what had just happened. Instead of listening to the small voice in his head telling him to just leave the place and not come back, he sighed and went to find a seat in one of the corners. At least she hadn’t started yelling at him the second she had seen him like he had been afraid of.

It didn’t take long for her to come back out of the kitchen, and instead of watching her move around like he wanted, he quickly looked down at the table, studying the wooden tabletop. Guilt started welling up in his stomach, and he pushed it down as quickly as he could. He had good reasons for hiding his identity from people; he couldn’t just let anyone know who he was, and what he did. What he did was dangerous, and he still didn’t know how safe he was, even in his own city and covered head to toe when he was out on patrol. Risu’s accusations still rang in his ears whenever he tried to reassure himself that his hiding his hero activity was for the best though, the incident from a week ago burned into his memory.

_ “What, did you think I was stupid?! That I wouldn’t figure it out?!”  _   
He could still see her face, her eyes burning with rage and hurt, his helmet gripped in her hands while she yelled at him for deceiving her. 

He squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing his face, and tried to push everything out of his head so he could think about what he needed to do. He needed to make sure she wouldn’t tell anyone who he was. That was all, it wouldn’t be so hard. And then he could just walk away, and she could be mad at him forever. Which would be… Fine. It was fine. At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about her being in any danger, or worrying her with what he was out doing at all hours of the night. He wouldn’t have to worry about someone finding her like they had him and and his uncle.

The sudden slamming of a glass on the table made him jump, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he looked up at Risu as she practically threw the usual napkin and chopsticks in his lap. She didn’t even glance at him, her eyes fixed on what she was doing, and then went straight to her notebook to take his order.

“Whaddaya want?” she asked, sounding like she’d rather be serving the alien they’d fought a few months ago. 

“I, uh… Th-the usual?” Cyrus said, trying to look at her around the notebook. She wasn’t even looking at him while she wrote down his normal lunch order.

“Fine.” Risu snapped the book shut, and walked away, turning around before he could continue.

“W-wait, Risu-! I-!” 

She was already back in the kitchen before the words had even left his mouth, his hand outstretched in the air as if to stop her. 

He took a deep breath, and drummed his fingers on the table, biting his lip. This was going to be harder than he thought if she wouldn’t even look at him, nevermind talk to him. He had thought that the restaurant would be a good place to approach her since she would have had to talk to him, even if it was just taking his order, but maybe it hadn’t been the best idea. He remembered a conversation they had had after a particular busy day at the restaurant for her; she had practically been falling asleep on the phone while he was out on patrol but had insisted that she could talk, the call piped through his helmet. She had been complaining about customers, particularly male ones, that took advantage of the fact that she had to stay and do her job to corner her into conversations she didn’t really want to have. He hadn’t wound up doing that instead, had he?

The slamming of a drink made him jump, and he looked over at another table to see Risu serving the other customers like she had him. At least he wasn’t the only one, but every slam of a plate, bowl, or glass made him flinch. He could hear the other customers starting to grumble about it, and glanced at Yama, still behind the sushi bar, who was watching his hard-headed apprentice with his arms folded.

A few minutes passed by, interspersed with more slamming as Cyrus drummed his fingers and fiddled with his phone to check the news, trying not to jump out of his seat every time Risu flung something on someone’s table. Finally, it was his turn, and he had to stop himself from leaping out of his chair, the force of which Risu plunked his glass of mango juice and soba noodle bowl down hard enough to send some of the juice and noodles flying onto the table. Cyrus looked up at her, sitting straight up in his seat.

“Thank-” And she was gone again, stomping away from him towards another table. 

“-you. ...Okay.”

He looked down at the small mess at the table, and started to dab at the spilled juice with his napkin. This was starting to feel like a lost cause; maybe he should have just stayed away.

Yama sighed, watching Risu chuck every order at the customers like she was flinging ceramic frisbees instead of plates, and finally got up from behind the sushi bar. She couldn’t keep going like this, she’d chase every customer they had off. At least now he knew it had something to do with Cyrus now; she had actually gotten worse since he had finally shown up after disappearing for a few days.

“Risu!”

She looked up from what she was doing, gently setting down a plate for the first time in days. Yama motioned for her to join him next to the kitchen door, in the corner furthest from all the customers. She came over, puzzled, as he reached into his apron pockets.

“ _ What’s up? _ ” she asked, the Japanese coming out of her much easier than her still forming English. He almost laughed at the question; did she really have to ask?

“ _ You’re going on your break, _ ” he said. He pulled out some money, and started peeling off a few bills.

Risu’s eyes narrowed, instantly suspicious. “ _ I already took my break _ ,” she said. “ _ It’s the lunch rush, I can’t _ -”   
“ _ Then you’re gonna take another one! _ ” he snapped, and pushed the bills into her hand. “ _ Here, go! Just… Go do something else for a while, alright? Go get some bubble tea, go for a walk, I don't care. Just get out of here for, like, 20 minutes _ .”

Risu didn’t move, her mouth twisted as she tried to figure out what he was doing, and Yama started to gently shove her away from him, pointing at the door.

“ _ Go! Shoo! Get out of my sight! _ ” he said, herding her out of the corner. Risu tried to swat him, getting some distance between the two of them.

“ _ Alright, alright, jeez!! _ ” 

She took her apron off, and finally headed out the door like he wanted.

Cyrus looked up from picking at his noodles, too busy in his own head to have really noticed what had been happening on the other side of the restaurant, and saw Risu leave. Before he could even start to wonder what that was about, Yama slid into the seat opposite of him, looming across the table at him.

“Alright, what’d you do to my waitress?” he demanded, pinning him with the intense, dark eyed stare he only used on customers that didn’t tip or men asking to have their arms broken around his wife or Risu. 

“I- Wha-?” Cyrus shook his head, putting his hands up. “Nothing!! Nothing, I didn’t do anything to her!” 

Yama only raised an eyebrow at him, and Cyrus put his hands down, starting to shrink.    
“Well, I… Maybe something…” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Yama heaved a heavy sigh, and sat back in the chair, crossing a leg and folding his arms.

“Alright… What’d you do then?” he asked, his eyes flicking up and down on him. It couldn’t have been that stupid, or else Cyrus would be short a hand, at least.    
The boy fidgeted in front of him for a second, not meeting his gaze, and Yama had the brief thought that it was truly odd that he was as meek as he was. Kid looked like he could bench press at least 200 pounds, but couldn’t look anyone in the eye if he was embarrassed, which seemed often. Cyrus finally looked up at him, trying to gauge how he felt about all this. Yama didn’t seem angry, more like he just wanted to hear the rest of what happened. The sushi chef certainly looked more willing to hear him out then Risu did.

“I… Lied to her about something,” he said. 

Yama grimaced at his answer, gritting his teeth and shaking his head. “Oooh, no, don’t ever do that!” he said, hissing like he had been kicked in the shin. “Don’t ever lie to a woman! That’s the worst thing you can do!”

“I didn’t think it’d be that big of a deal!” Cyrus protested, putting his hands up again. “But she got really mad! I want to fix things, but she won’t even look at me-!”

“Well, what’d you lie about?” Yama said, cutting him off before he could keep going. 

Cyrus hesitated, trying to think of what to say. He couldn’t tell Yama the truth either, but he could probably help more then anyone. Most likely wanted to help too, or else he wouldn’t have sat down to talk about what happened in the first place. Yama waited patiently, watching him while he decided what to say.

“...Street racing,” he said. That was believable, right? He had the motorcycle, after all, and he’d busted plenty of guys his age doing it. It actually seemed pretty popular. 

Yama only stared at him for a moment, and then groaned, dragging a hand across his face.

“That’s… That’s pretty bad…” he said, his voice muffled by his hand. He ran his hands through his hair, his fingers almost catching on the small ponytail on the back of his head.    
“So! Not only did you lie, but you’ve been putting yourself in danger too. No wonder she’s been breaking plates.”

Cyrus looked down at his hands. “I didn’t want her to worry…” he said quietly, the familiar queasiness swimming in his stomach at the thought of getting Risu involved with anything he did.

“Well, it’s a bit late for that! And not only that, you probably made it worse!” Yama said. He tapped the table with one finger, trying to drive his point home. “Getting a woman to stop worrying is a lost cause, trust me, but since you already lied to her about it once, now she’s going to have to worry about you being safe  _ and _ if you’re lying again. If you were hoping to dig your own grave, you picked a hell of a way to do it.”

Cyrus didn’t react at first, Yama’s verdict hitting him and dragging his heart down past his feet. He had been wanting to believe so badly that he could fix this, that he could make things right, and Risu could at least tolerate being around him again. But he was right; he had most likely made it worse. 

“So that’s it then…” Cyrus leaned back in his chair, folding his arms, and miserably studied his untouched bowl of noodles. “I can’t fix it.”   
“I never said that.”

Cyrus looked up at Yama, confused. The resignation halted in his chest for a moment.

“But you just said-”   
“I didn’t say it was hopeless, I just said you dug your own grave. It's your choice if you want to give up and lie down it. You just gotta talk to her,” he said.

Cyrus shook his head. “She won’t even look at me!”

“So, you throw yourself in front her so she trips, and then beg for forgiveness!” Yama said, throwing his hands upin demonstration. “Look, Risu’s not the kind of person who can hold a grudge forever, and I doubt she could with you anyway. You just need to get her to listen to you for more then two seconds, and that should get something started. If that doesn’t work, I can always lock her in the walk in refrigerator until she cools down.”

“Yeah, I gue- Wait, what?”

Yama continued, ignoring his brief look of alarm. “My point is, you just have to get her to talk to you. Really talk to you. Not her usual ‘I’m gonna yell because I don’t know what else to do’ thing where she makes a buncha noise ‘cause she’s upset, but sit down and talk to you about what’s really eating her.” 

Cyrus titled his head, thinking. He made it sound so easy when he had been trying what he had just suggested since he had walked into the restaurant. Maybe the environment had been wrong though; instead of trying to get her to talk to him of her own free will, he had cornered her instead. It was no wonder she hadn’t said more than two words to him if that was how she felt about him showing up unannounced. He folded his hands.

“So… If she talks to me… What do I do after that?” he asked, edging his way into unfamiliar territory. Talking to girls wasn’t exactly his strong suit, even if it was Risu.

Yama shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, you listen to her,” he said. “And then you figure it out with her. Apologies tend to go both ways like that, yknow?”

“Mmm…” 

Cyrus looked down at the table again. If he could clear the first hurdle, then it might all just solve itself. At least he could say he tried if it all blew up in his face. If she really wanted nothing to do with him ever again, the least he needed to find out was that she wouldn’t tell anyone who Coyote really was. Then he would leave her be. He picked up his chopsticks, picking at the soba noodles again, even though they had long gone cold.

“So… What exactly are you waiting for?” Yama’s voice interrupted his thoughts again, and he looked up, the noodles slipping out of the chopsticks almost instantly.

“Uh…”   
“She’s down at the bubble tea shop two blocks down,” Yama said, jerking a thumb at the door. “I sent her out on her break; you’ve got at least 15 minutes to try and get her to listen.”

Cyrus blinked at him, slowly connecting the dots, and then it finally clicked. He started up from his seat.

“Oh! Oh, yeah, I should-! Uh, yeah, thanks-!!” he said, grabbing his coat from the chair and quickly trying to find his wallet to put the money down for the noodles.

Yama got up with him. “Wait a minute, I’ve got one more thing,” he said, watching Cyrus fumble with a few crumpled bills.

Cyrus looked up, his coat half on him. “Wha- OW!”

Quick as lightning, Yama had slapped him upside the head, and then the next thing he knew, he was being shook by the scruff of his neck.

“Street racing?! Are you kidding me?!” Yama said, shaking him like a misbehaving puppy. “Lu must be spinning in his grave!! What do you think you’re doing, running off and doing something as stupid as that?!”

He finally let him go, and Cyrus grabbed the chair, dizzy, and rubbing the side of his head. Yama pointed a finger at him.

“You go talk to Risu! And quit the street racing!” he growled at him. He stepped aside to give Cyrus a clear path to the door. “And if I find out you’re still doing it, I’ll go out there and beat you myself!”

“Y-yes, sir,” Cyrus said, shrugging his coat on the rest of the way. Why did he have to pick street racing? Maybe telling him something else would have been less painful.

“Good. Now, go on, get out of here!”

He didn’t have to tell him twice. Cyrus quickly walked past him and out the front door. His ears were still ringing a bit, but he knew exactly which bubble tea shop Yama had been talking about. Risu had taken him to it a few times, and then she would usually find a way to get over to the creperie as well. It was the two things she could never get enough of. 

He walked down the sidewalk, this section of the city slightly more crowded, and made his way to the shop. A quick scan from the outside proved that she wasn’t inside anymore, the shop filled with college students, and he looked around outside, trying to see above the surge of people. She wasn’t that hard to pick out, her hair was a completely different color than most people's around here.

He finally picked out the auburn curls, and saw her sitting on a bench near the beginnings of a small park, bubble tea in one hand and her phone in the other. She wasn’t even looking up, her head bent down as she was busy with whatever she was doing on her phone. 

“Risu! Hey! Risu!” he called to her, trying to get her attention. He didn’t want to sneak up on her, and wind up with a medium bubble tea dumped on his head.

Her head snapped up, looking around, and she finally saw him coming towards her. He waved an arm in the air so she could see where he was better. She squinted at him for a second, almost like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and then jumped off the bench and took off running down the street.

“Oh, no, come on-! Risu-!!” He could see her ponytail zipping down the sidewalk and away from him as quickly as any purse snatcher.

With a groan, he started after her, running through the crowd better than most probably thought he could. He slipped past shoppers and mothers tugging their kids along, but she had almost half a block head start on him. If he didn’t pick up the pace, he would lose her; it was getting hard to keep track of her already, she was good at weaving through crowds. He stopped where he was, watching her turn the corner onto another street. 

He looked around, trying to think of how to cut her off best. His eyes landed on an alleyway across the street, and he ran for it, ducking into the dead end. A dumpster or a fire escape would be all he would need to give himself a starting point to get to the roof, and there was usually one of the two in an alley in Little Tokyo. This one didn’t disappoint, a rickety looking fire escape about halfway down the alley, and he jumped up onto the metal ladder without a second thought. He climbed up the fire escape, leaped onto the roof, and ran across to look over the other side onto the street he was sure Risu had gone down.

He looked down at the crowd, going through the myriad of dark haired heads… A flash of red caught his eye, and he found her, still weaving through the foot traffic like someone was following her on the ground. Well, he wasn’t on the ground anymore, but he would still give her points for trying. It looked like she was going to do a loop around the block to try and lose him. 

Cyrus took a running start, and jumped over to the next building, leaping from one to the other until he came to the end of the block. He glanced back at the crowd below, and saw Risu starting to round the bend he was standing over. He quickly scrambled down the side of the building, using the bricks and, thankfully, curtained windows’ ledges to hop down onto the sidewalk. He didn’t feel like having anyone seeing him scaling their home like a leather clad spider in broad daylight. He hit the ground and ducked into the nearest doorway, lying against the door to stay out of sight. Then he counted to ten.

Risu darted past him, and he grabbed her arm, yanking her into the doorway with him. 

She started to fight him immediately, flailing wildly and yelling in Japanese, and he ducked a fist, the swing taking out a few bricks next to him. Oh mercy, he had forgotten how strong she was. He picked her up around the middle, taking her off the ground and trying to keep her kicking legs away from him. He had to be careful or she could really hurt him.

“Risu!! Risu, it’s me!! Quit i- OOF-!!”

She elbowed him in the middle, instantly knocking them both to the ground with her monster strength, and he gasped on the ground, the wind completely knocked out of him. Risu jumped up and away from him, spinning around to put her fists up at whoever had snatched her off the sidewalk.

“ _Kono yarou-!!_ _Kis-!_ Ohmygosh!!”   
Risu’s tone switched from deadly rage to shock, and he peered up at her, still trying to catch his breath. He saw her start to take a step back, and threw a hand up in the hopes of stopping her.

“Risu, wait, please!” he gasped, trying to get back up as quickly as he could. He didn’t think he could chase her again in this state.

“For what?! So you can grab me again and I break your ribs?!” she snapped at him.

He slowly got to his feet, hissing in pain as he did. It didn’t feel like anything was broken, but it certainly hurt. “Okay, I deserved that…” he mumbled.

“No shit! What were you thinking, grabbing me like that?! I could have really hurt you!!” the redhead fumed in front of him. She pointed accusingly back at the sidewalk, the bubble tea she had had in her hands sprayed across the cement. “AND you made me drop my tea!!”

“Hey, I tried to talk to you earlier! You’re the one that ran off!” he said, holding his side.

“Yeah, and then you chased me like a crazy person! A guy almost twice my size chasing a little Asian girl in the middle of the day? Do you have any idea what that looks like?” Risu folded her arms at him, glaring daggers at him where she stood.

Cyrus pressed his lips together, glancing down at the ground. “...That might not have been my best idea,” he said quietly.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Risu scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You’re just full of ‘em these days.”

Cyrus held his breath, trying not to snap at her like he wanted. It would be easy to give in and argue with her like it seemed like she wanted to do, but Yama telling him to persuade Risu to really talk to him and not put up a front like she loved to do kept him from it. Jabbing at each other wouldn’t solve anything. He sighed, trying to avoid the obvious sneer on her face as she looked at him, and sat down on the doorstep he had only just gotten up off of.

“Listen, can we just… Talk? It won’t be long, I promise,” he said, looking up at her. 

Risu stared down at him, her lavender eyes quietly smoldering with barely held back rage he could feel wanting to jump out and strike him. He knew she had a bad temper, but it had never been directed at him before. She twisted her mouth, holding back what looked like a snarl, and sat down next to him with a sigh. She pulled her phone out of her hoodie, huffing as she leaned back against the door.

“You’ve got ten minutes,” she said. She glanced at him. “Talk.”

Cyrus took a deep breath. This wasn't how he had thought this conversation would go, and he hadn't planned much to begin with. He watched her fiddle with her phone for a moment, trying to think of where to start.

“I'm… Sorry that I chased you. And scared you like I did,” he said. “But I really need to talk to you about… What happened.”

He didn't even want to say it outloud. Someone figuring out his identity was one of his worst fears. Risu looked at him, frowning.

“Why didn't you just text me or something?” she asked.

“...I didn't think you'd answer.”

Risu shrugged, hunching forward over her phone. “Yeah, you're probably right,” she said. She turned her phone over in her hands, the Sailor Moon charm on the end jingling with every nervous flip.

He took another breath, taking the plunge like he had going into the restaurant.

“You can’t tell anyone,” he said. He glanced at her and caught the brief, unimpressed look on her face. “I know it sounds obvious, but no one can know. No one. For… A lot of reasons.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Oh for goodness’ sake, like I’d ever tell anyone,” Risu said, leaning back against the door and folding her arms. “If that’s what you’re worried about, you don’t have to. I don’t know a lot about this hero stuff, but I know enough to not tell anyone who you are.”

Cyrus chuckled, and gave her a small, sheepish smile.

“I honestly didn’t think you would do anything, you don’t seem like that kind of person… But I can’t be too careful,” he said. His smile faded as he thought of their original argument, if you could call it that. An argument usually needed two people to be upset, but it had only been Risu who had been yelling as he tried not to go into a blind panic.

He watched the crowd go by for a moment, letting the silence settle between them again as he thought of what she had said that night. 

“...I don’t think you’re stupid,” he finally said. 

Risu’s head snapped up to look at him. “What?”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Cyrus repeated, shaking his head. He looked down at her, his face lined with guilt. “I never meant to make you feel that way, it’s just… There are a lot of people that want to hurt m- I mean, Coyote. If they ever found out about you, or anyone else, they could use you against him.” He squeezed his hands shut.

“I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt because of that. Or Marisol. Or my family. That’s why no one can know; it’s the best way to keep you safe...”

“That is crap!!”

Cyrus jumped a few inches at the anger in her voice, and leaned away from Risu’s rage filled eyes. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to find his voice again; that hadn’t been the reaction he thought he would get at all. Risu leaned forward, her eyes burning holes into him.

“That doesn’t protect anyone! That just keeps us all in the dark!” she said, waving her hands in the air. “If anything happened to you, how the hell would I know, huh?! I wouldn’t! I wouldn’t have a damn clue where you went, or what happened to you!! What if you got killed?! All I would know is that one day you just disappeared, and that would be it!! How do you think that would make me feel?!”

Her outrage cut right into him, backing him up against the doorframe as she lashed out. She sounded so angry her voice might crack from frustration.

“I-I didn’t… Think of that,” he stammered. He felt a dozen answers flooding his head, but each one seemed to defeated by one question or another. She was right; if something had happened to him, she wouldn’t have had any way of knowing. It would have looked like he had just walked out of her life.

“Obviously,” she snapped at him, her mouth twisting into an ugly snarl. She folded her arms, and turned away from him, glaring at the sidewalk. 

The silence returned, heavy and oppressive, and it felt like miles had been put between them when they were only inches apart in a cramped doorway. Cyrus leaned his head back against the door, resisting the urge to bang it in frustration. This wasn’t going anywhere near where he had hoped it would. He had wanted her to understand, but instead she had taken all of his reasons and smashed them into pieces. He understood where she was coming from, but he didn’t know what else to do. The risk was too high, and he refused to put her, or anyone else, in any more danger than they already were by being around him. It was either tell them the truth, and live with the terror of having them snatched away like Lu, or keep them safe in ignorance.

He saw Risu put her face in her hands out of the corner of his eye, and heard her sigh, the action taking all the tension out of her shoulders. 

“I mean, come on, Cyrus, why the hek do you think I’m friends with you?” she said helplessly. Cyrus stared at her, blinking at the sudden change. The anger was gone, replaced by something he couldn’t put his finger on. It wasn’t something he heard in her very often.

“It’s not because it’s convenient, it’s because I like you. You’re the best friend I’ve got right now,” she said. “I get it, I do, but… If you’re so worried about any of us getting hurt, who’s worrying about you? Who’s helping you?”

It was worry. It was worry, and concern for his well-being. He was only used to his mom or his dad looking at him the way Risu was at the moment, her lavender eyes dark with anxiety, that he hadn’t even recognized it at first. He started to shake his head.

“You don’t have to help me!” he protested. “Please, don’t worry about me, I’m just fi-”

“Cyrus!!” Risu cut him off, the exasperation in her voice stopping him. “Can you not be so damn selfless for two seconds?! Jeez!”

Risu sighed. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself! Trust me, I know!” she said, pointing at herself. “I know it’s like you  _ have _ to do everything yourself, and you don’t want to ask anyone else because it’s  _ your _ stuff and you want to take care of it. You don’t want to bug anyone, or get in their way, or whatever, it’s always something because this is your thing, dammit, and you’re going to do it yourself!”

She leaned back against the doorway, looking up at the sky as she kept going. He wanted to interject, but this was the most he had heard her talk since that day in her apartment on her mother’s anniversary.

“I left home when I was 11, man. I’ve seen my dad maybe a total of a month in the last 6 years.” she said. “I know what it’s like doing it all by yourself, and I get doing it because it’s what  _ you _ want to do, but it freaking sucks if you don’t have at least someone around you. If you keep everyone out, there’s no one there to put you back together when you fall apart.”

She looked back at him, half pleading and half exhausted. He wanted to ask what made her look so tired all of a sudden, but he had a feeling it had to do with what she was telling him. It sounded hard, working like she did towards her dreams but having to do it so far from the one person she knew cared about her no matter what. 

“You don’t have to tell me everything,” she said. She gently put her hand on his arm, small compared to the rest of him. “Just… Let me help if I can. Hek, even if it’s just knocking on my door at 3 in the morning because you’re hungry or something, I don’t care. Please, don’t shut us all out because you’re afraid we’ll get hurt.” 

Cyrus quietly stared at her for a moment, and then looked down at her hand, her fingers rough and littered with the scars of dozens of cuts and burns. She had been hurt plenty of times by other things, and she had the scars to prove it, not just on her hands. Everyone he knew had gotten hurt by something at some point. This was different though, this was at least something he could keep them away from, but Risu’s point made him pause. If he was pushing them all out of harm’s way, what happened when he pushed them away too far, like what he had inadvertently did with her? He had been trying to keep her safe from an unknown danger, but had hurt her himself instead. He needed to find a balance, but he didn’t know if he could really do it. Could he be honest, and let her or anyone else know when he was in trouble, but still keep them safe? He didn’t know…

He looked down at Risu again, who was still waiting for answer. She was still holding onto his arm, her fingers curling into the fabric of his sleeve. He took a deep breath, and slowly let it out, closing his eyes.

“...I can try,” he said, sounding unsure. Risu’s face immediately lit up with a huge smile, her lavender eyes sparking to life again like he was used to. He resisted the urge to look away, feeling the usual burn of an awkward blush trying to rise on his face, and instead tried to look serious.

“But I need you to understand, I can’t…” He paused, looking for the right words. 

“If something really bad happens and you might not be safe, I won’t ask for your help. I know you mean well, but I can’t put you in that kind of danger.”

Risu shook her head. “It’s alright, I know that. I’d just like to know if you’re alright, that’s all, really,” she said. “I know this hero stuff is nuts, and, like, there’s top secret stuff. I’d just… Kinda like to know if I’ll be seeing you the next day or not, yknow?”

She gently nudged him in the side, a laughing grin on her face. “You don’t have to worry  _ that _ much though. I’m tougher then I look,” she said, lifting a fist as if to show off the muscles in her arm.

“Oh, yeah, miss ‘I’m going to throw a table at the alien,’ I know you’re tough!” Cyrus laughed at her, reaching to flip her ponytail over her head. Risu swatted at his hand.   
“Hey!! Dude, he was gonna eat you!! What else was I gonna throw, a chair sure as hek wasn’t gonna do it!! Thing was a big as the kitchen!!” she protested. 

Cyrus only laughed again, and she rolled her eyes at him before checking her phone. She groaned looking at the time, and started to get up.

“Ugh, sorry, I’ve got to get back. Yama only gave me 20 minutes,” she said. She gave him an awkward smile. “I wasn’t being mean when I said you had 10 minutes, I have to get back to work…”

Cyrus stood up with her, and glanced back at the sidewalk. Her tea had long since been soaked up by the pavement and he felt a twinge of guilt knowing he had something to do with that. He bit his lip, thinking.

“Well, uh… He kind of jumped on me when you left, so I think he knows I’m talking to you,” he said, scratching the back of his head. He jerked his thumb back in the direction she had come from. “If you wanted, we could probably get away with getting you another tea, at least. It’d be my treat.”

Risu put her hands on her hips with a sigh, and looked down the road, obviously thinking about the many things she had to get back to at the restaurant.    
“Well, I mean, I don’t think I’ll have time to really drink anything. It’s doesn’t look professional if you’re stopping to drink something every time you have your hands free,”   
She tilted her head, and then looked up at him, taking a quick step closer with a mischievous glint in her eyes. He almost stepped back from her, not prepared for how quickly she could switch moods.   
“Buuuut maybe I’d forgive you for making me drop my tea if you bought me a crepe instead?” she said, grinning at him and turning the charm on full blast. She clapped her hands together pleadingly. “Please?”

Cyrus looked up at the sky with a sigh. “...Twist my arm, why don’t you,” he said, half laughing at her.

“Does that mean yes?” She tilted her head to the other side, still smiling up at him and idly swaying from side to side. 

“Yes, you little gremlin! Now put those puppy eyes away before you hurt yourself!”

Risu laughed, bouncing back to how she had been in an instant. 

“Heehee-! Yeah, it’s not a good look for me!” She tossed her ponytail back behind her shoulder as she started to walk in the direction of the shop. “I look much better throwing tables at man-eating aliens!”

Cyrus followed after her, letting her lead the way, and smiled to himself as they walked. Relief was slowly spreading through him as they walked together, and everything felt like it was falling back into where it had been before. There was more clarity though, more freedom for him to move around and tell her things, if he really wanted or needed to that is. But there was less fear in him then there had been, and he thought that was good enough for now. 

 

He couldn’t make it to the restaurant the next day, and the next couple of days after that, tied up chasing leads and small hero jobs that kept him busy and away. He sent a few texts to let her know what was going on though, and after the fourth day, took a few pictures of the sunset from the top of the building he was using to stake out a dock. It was a great view of the water, the sky dyed red and orange as the sun dipped below the horizon. He wound up getting a few photos back from the restaurant’s kitchen of the dishes she was prepping, and he had to tell her to stop before he ate his phone.

Finally, after wrapping everything up, he was able to get over to Yama’s for lunch. 

This time Cyrus didn't hesitate walking in at all without giving her any warning; he wanted it to be a surprise this time. The restaurant was busy, as was usual for the afternoon rush, and at first Risu didn't notice him while he stood in the area to be seated. He had to wait for her to get finished putting down drinks for a family of five, the kids bopping up and down in one of the boothes, and when she turned around to finally see him, he gave her a wave and a smile. 

Risu smiled, big and bright like he was used to, and waved back with her free hand.

“Sit wherever you like!” she called to him. She looked like she was about to say something else when one of the kids suddenly knocked over their drink and she had to jump around to catch it.

His first instinct was to go over and see if she needed any help, but the fact that this was part of her job stopped him. It would probably look pretty weird for a customer to run over to help the waitress. He went over to his usual table near the window where he could watch the people go by outside and see everything that was happening in the restaurant. Yama caught his eye from behind the sushi bar, and the sushi chef jerked his head towards Risu. Cyrus gave him a quick thumbs up, and Yama nodded his head approvingly, going back to arranging sashimi on a plate. 

Risu was over at his table in a minute, glass and pitcher in hand.

“It’s pretty busy today,” he said to her as she set the glass down and then filled it.

Risu shrugged. “Yeah, just a bit…” she said. She handed him his napkin and chopsticks. “The kids are kinda cute though, but… I think their parents wish they went to the McDonald’s a few blocks down instead.”

She took out her notebook and got ready. “So, anything new today, or the usual?” she asked him.

Cyrus picked up the menu that had been set on the table long before he had sat down, and quickly perused the lunch specials. He had been ordering the soba noodle bowls for a while.

“I’m thinking… The vegetable yakisoba. What do you think?” he said. He was starting to relax already; this was how it was supposed to be. No angry silence, or cold stares. 

Risu wrote down his order. “I’d say that’s a good idea. We made a bunch of fresh noodles this morning, so you’re gonna get something pretty good!” she said, giving him an excited smile.

“I didn’t know you guys made your own noodles,” he said, handing her the menu.

“Pfft, I’m not up at 6 in the morning for nothing,” Risu said, putting her order notebook in her apron pocket, and taking the menu from him.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes up at her, a little concerned. “...When exactly do you sleep again?”

“HA! Wouldn’t you like to know!” Risu laughed at him, and turned away, headed for the kitchen.

He watched her go, feeling the mild bit of concern build in him. It hadn’t been something he had been able to give much thought, but now that he watched her move around the restaurant and thought back to their conversation a few days ago, he didn’t know much about how Risu took care of herself. She was always doing something; working at the restaurant, practicing in the kitchen with Yama, and when he had been with her at home, she had been cooking then too. He thought of the brief look of exhaustion on her face he had seen when they had been sitting in that doorway. He didn’t think he could ask her now, or maybe even later today, but made a mental note to try and talk to her later. Maybe if she was up while he was doing another stakeout, he could try and ask her.

She came back about twenty minutes later, stopping at the booth with the children again to drop off the check and hand over a pile of napkins for the extremely apologetic mother. She only laughed at the woman’s apologies, reached into her apron pockets, and gave the mother a few pieces of wrapped candy. Cyrus watched her come over his way, and tilted his head in thought.

“I didn’t know you carried candy with you,” he said, leaning back as she set down the plate of noodles and his mango juice. 

“I usually have something; you never know who’s gonna need it. They’re not bad kids, just active,” she said. She put her hands on her hips, surveying the table. “Need anything else?”

Cyrus could barely take his eyes off the plate of noodles in front of him, the peppers, broccoli and snap peas looking perfectly fresh and cooked with the bits of stir-fried egg mixed in with the sauce to thicken it up even more. He had to stop himself from drooling right there, and instead looked up at Risu with a large smile.

“No, I think I’m good! This looks perfect!” he said. Risu smiled proudly, and then perked up, her eyes sparking as she looked like she had suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, wait! I have something for you,” she said, reaching into her pockets again. “Here!”

She handed him a small blue envelope, about the size of his palm, that had been tied closed with a piece of thick, white string. He took it from her, curiously looking it over as it felt heavier than he had expected, the envelope having what felt like a small wooden block inside it. The front had Japanese characters written in silver along with stencils of white, stylized clouds. He turned it over and the back had a bright picture of a nine-tailed white fox in a dark forest, a red scarf tied around its neck while a scroll was in its mouth, and bright blue fire floated around it. He turned it over again, looking at it quizzically.

“What is it? Do I open it?” he asked, pointing at the knot sealing the envelope.

“Oh, jeez, no!” Risu laughed at him, and pointed at the seal. “You’ll let all the luck out of it if you do that! It’s an omamori; a protection charm. It’ll keep you safe while you’re out and about.”

She leaned forward, and turned the envelope in his hand over so she could point at the fox.

“They’re like carrying little prayers with you. My dad gave me one before I left for my training journey, and it makes me feel better sometimes. I thought you could use one,” she said, and quickly glanced around before lowering her voice so only he could hear. “I couldn’t find one with a coyote, but I thought you might like the kitsune. They do an awful lot of stuff like you, like wearing masks, and the fox fire!” 

Cyrus turned the omamori over in his hands, feeling the weight of it again, and then looked up at her, a small, grateful smile on his face. 

“Thank you, Risu, I mean it. This is really nice,” he said, hoping she could tell he was being truly sincere. “I wish I could do something for you, I really appreciate this.”

Risu straightened up from leaning forward, sliding the serving tray under her arm. “You  _ can _ do something for me,” she said, putting a hand on one hip. “Keep it on you; it’ll make me feel better.”

Cyrus closed his hand over the charm, and nodded his head. 

“I think I can do that,” he said.

“Good!” Risu smiled at him again, and turned around, heading back out to the rest of the restaurant. “Let me know if you need anything over here!”

Cyrus nodded again, even though he knew she couldn’t see him. She would most likely be back to chat with him some more in between orders and swinging by the other tables. He watched her stop at the booth with the children again, picking up the check, and giving the customers a final bow in farewell as they slid out to continue on with their day. 

He looked back down at the charm she had given him, studying the fox and ran his thumb over the small ink painting. The blue paint of the fox fire was rough, the stray pieces of pigment catching on the ridges of his finger. He turned it over, looking over the silver characters, and wondered what they said. A protection charm, she had said, like carrying a little prayer with you. He looked up and saw her auburn ponytail bouncing up and down as she walked, carrying a pile of dirty dishes back to the kitchen.

Cyrus carefully took the omamori, and tucked it into a pocket inside his jacket. 


End file.
